Parking meter mechanism



Apml 2, 1946. F, L. MICHAELS 2,397,873

PARKING METER MECHANISM Filed 00%. so, 1941 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. frank? llMickaels.

April 2, 1946. F. MlcHAELs 2,397,878

PARKING METER MECHANISM Filed Oct. 30, 1941 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 as 7 n INVENTOR.

g'mfik L. Miolaels Patented Apr. 2, 1946 PARKING METER MECHANISM Frank L. Michaela, Fort Thomas, Ky., asslgnor to The Michael: Art Bronze Company, Covington, Ky., a corporation of Kentucky I Application October 30, 1941, Serial No. 417,177

Claims.

The present invention relates to parking meters and has for an object the provision of a meter that is adapted for manual setting by the motorist, after deposit 01' one or more selected coins, in

order to prepay diflerent parking periods within more than one predetermined size and denomination so that a motorist may utilize, for example; either pennies or nickls to prepay a permitted parking period and receive proportionate values in prepaid parking time.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a meter mechanism of the manually set coin controlled type to receive coins of more than one size with different money values and to register the total money value of all deposited coins on a simple counter device.

Another object of the invention is to provide a mechanism for the foregoing purposes that is simple in construction and which embodies relatively few moving parts and at the same time is adaptable to adjustment for any of a variety of predetermined parking periods.

These and other objects are attained by the means described herein and disclosed in the accompanying drawings, in which: I

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of a mete of the invention with the supporting standard broken away.

Fig. 2 is an elevational view showing a removable section of the meter casing of Fig. 1 with the mechanism oi the invention attached, the clockwork mechanism being broken away.

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view taken on line 3--3 of Fig. 2. v Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 2, but showing in dotted outline the clockwork housing.

Fig. 5 is a fragmental view of the mechanism of Fig. 2 with the indicator hand and the viola- Fig. 9 is a view similar to Fig. '6 showing the position 01' the parts when initially released by engagement of the coin pusher upon a deposited nickel with the rack in position for actuating the counter to register five units and with apreviously deposited coin just released and passing out of the end oi. the coin guide.

Fig. 10 is a view similar to Fig. 9 but showing the nickel moved to its limit by the coin pusher, a ratchet hub turned to its limit wherein the indicator is set for a one hour period of operation, and the ratchet returned to normal position after having actuated the counter to register five units.

Fig. 11 shows the position of parts when initially engaged upon a deposited penny, showing the ratchet positioned to actuate the counter to register one unit.

Fig. 12 is a view similar to Fig. 11, but showing the penny moved to its limit by the coin pusher, the penny control pawl precluding movement of the ratchet hub beyond one-fifth of a complete cycle.

Fig. 13 is a view with the mechanism of Fig. 9 modified for use as a two-hour parking meter.

Fig. 14 is a view of the mechanism of Fig. 13 at the beginning of its setting operation on' the first inserted nickel.

Fig. 15 is a view of the parts 01' Fig. 14 at the end of the setting operation on the first nickel and ready for release for operation of the meter or for the further setting operation with a second nickel.

Fig. 16 shows the mechanism of Fig. 13 at approximately the limit of setting operation on an inserted penny.

The meter of the invention is housed in a casing 25 mounted on a tubular standard 28. The details of the casing form no specific part of the present invention but are shown as substantially similarin construction to the casing illustrated in my co-pending application for a Parking meter, Serial No. 282,645, filed July 3, 1939, now U.

' S. Patent No. 2,311,242 of February 16, 1943. The

removable casing section 21 Joins the fixed section 28 along the vertical edges 29 and horizontal bottom edge 30. The connection between the fixed and removable casing sections is by means of screws (not shown) entering hollow threaded bores 3| in stud posts 32. p

The posts 32 carry male threads at the remaining ends and these, together with a screw 33, pass through the bores 34-34 and 35 of a support plate 36 and secure said plate to the tops of threaded bosses 31 and 38 on the inside face of the casing. Secured on the rear face of the plate 36'is an inclined channel shaped member 39 having flanges 48 and 4| riveted to plate 38 and having its top edge 42 flared outwardly for the reception of a coin to be passed therethrough. The

attached channel shaped member 38 have registering arcuate slots 41 and '48, respectively, disposed on a radius with pivot post 49 as a center. The plate 36 also has an arcuate edge 58 disposed in a radius on the same center, this arcuat edge 58 extending partly across the top of the hollow coin discharge tube 44.

An odd shaped reinforcing plate 5| (see Fig. 5) is secured on the plate 36 at the upper lei'thand side and on it are secured the pivot post 49 and a spacer hub 52 through which the screw 33 passes. An odd shaped main lever 53 has a hub 54 secured thereto, which hub is journalled on a thimble 55 of a pawl 56 which has its bearing directly on the pivot post 49. Lever 53 thus swings about post 49 as its pivotal center and it is provided on its outer edges with rearwardly turned lugs 51 and 58, the first mentioned lug 51 extending through the registering slots 41 and 48, while the last mentioned lug 56 may swing in parallelism with the arcuate edge 58 of plate 36 to and from a position blocking the t p of coin discharge tube 44. In relatively opposed relation to the coin control lugs 51 and'58, the lever 53 has a parallel offset finger 59 which is disposed in a relatively forwardly relation to the body of the lever. The uppermost end 68. of main lever 53 is normally disposed as a coin released latch, directlyin the path of the end-6i of a flange 62 on a coin'.pu-her segment 63. Intermediate the center of pivot post 49 and the end 68 of lever 53 a pin 64 projects through said lever. When the main lever 53 is in the position, for example, as shown in Fig. 5, the pin 64 is in a dead center position on the radius of flange 62 o that the end 68 of the lever positively precludes any appreciable rotation of pusher segment 63 about its axis. On the rear face of lever 53a grooved roller 65 is suitably journalled on the pin 64. The opposite end of pin 64 projects forwardly through an arcuate slot 66 in the upper portion of pawl 56, sa d slot also having pivot post 49 as its radial center. A coin guide rib 61 formed integrally with the casing section 21 terminates at 68 ju t above the grooved roller 65 so that a coin 69 entered through opening 18 (see Fig. 2) in the outside of the casing beneath hood 1| may roll down the guide rib 61 and come to rest on the grooved roller 65 where it will also rest against hub 12 of coin pusher segment 63 and in position to be engaged by the end 6| of flange 62. The coin at this time is disposed between the face of pusher segment 63 and the back of toothed hub 13. A center shaft 14 has the coin pusher segment 63 fixedly mounted thereon by the threaded engagement of hub 12, the end of the hub 12 serving to space the toothed hub 13 for thereception of the coin as aforesaid. Exterior opera ing handle 15 serves to turn shaft 14 and the aflixed coin pusher segment 63 and an encircling, concealed coil spring 16 anchored at one end with in the handle 15 and at the other end in member 63, urges handle 15 and associated parts in a counterclockwise direction. Integral stop lugs 11 on the casing (see Figs. 5, 8 and 9) cooperate with opposite faces 188 of segmentally shaped extension 18 on the rear of member 63. Toothed hub 13 has a laterally projecting lug 19 which fits loosely into an aperture 88 in an indicator member 8| when the latter is Journalled on the haft 14. A spring wire 82 has an end 83 extendin through the indicator member 8| and has the opposite end flexed and inserted alongside lug 18 whereby a limited amount of lost motion exists between toothed hub 13 and the indicator member 8i. As canbe best seen in Fig. 14, the indicator member 8! has a second aperture 84 diametrically opposite the aperture 88 so that toothed hub 13 may be alternatively connected to the indicator member 8| after turning the same through 180 from the position shown; for example, in Fig. 2. The spring member 82 is changed to a relatively opposite position when such adjustment is made. Projecting from the back ofindicator member 8! is a pin 85 which is engageable by a forwardly projecting finger 86 on the flange 62 of the coin pusher segment.

From the foregoing it will be noted that in the absence of a coin such as 69 (see Fig. 6) a -nan-- die 15 may be rotated in a clockwise (counterclockwise in Fig. 6) direction to move the end M of flange 62 on the coin pusher segment into abutment with the end 68 of main lever 53 before the finger 86 can contact pin 85 on the indicator member 8|. The meter is thus locked against any substantial movement of the handle 15 so that the meter cannot be possibly set without prior deposit of a coin. When a coin such as. 69 is positioned and the handle 15 is turned clockwise by the operator (counterclockwise as viewed in Fig. 6), the segment 63 is turned in a like direction. against roller 65 and causes the main lever 53 to pivot about its. mounting 49 and thus remove the end 68 from the path of the coin pusher seg ment. The coin then drops and is arrested by lug 51, while lug 58 releases a previously deposited coin which it had supported at the inspection station 43. When lever 53 returns, the coin 69 drops from lug 51 and is supported by the lug 58.

The degree of rocking movement of main lever 53 is determined by the diameter of the coin so that if a nickel or five cent coin is deposited, the parts initially assume theposition as shown in Fig. 9 where finger 86 is ready to pick up pin 85 for turningthe indicator member. The degree of rocking movement imparted to main lever 53 is sufficient for the pin 64 to reach the end of slot 66 in pawl 56 and rock said pawl entirely clear of the path of the teeth 81 of toothed hub 13, so that when the handle is manually moved to its limit, the indicator member 68 is moved to the full limit or entirely across,to the side 88 of the window opening in the casing. 89 represents an interchangeable dial member which, in the embodiment shown in Figs. 1-l2, inclusive, is divided into sixty minutes which constitutes the maximum possible setting of the indicator member 8|. Member 89 is mounted in'position to be visible below the top of the window by means of screws 98. A time mechanism indicated in dotted lines at 9| has a gear 92 meshing with the tooth gear portion 93 of indicator member 8i so that during the setting operation, while the indicator hand 94 is being moved to a setting position by manual operation of the handle 15,

the pinion 92 is winding the time mechanism 8|. The hand 94 abuts a screw 95 which is positioned This causes the coin to push i as 'shownin Fig. 2 whenever the hand is set to the maximum permitted setting. Said screw 96. however, may be adjusted to any of the threaded assure perforations 96 in order to reduce the maximum through the meter by the end 6| of the coin pusher segment, the pawl 56 is also retracted far enough to move a projecting fin 91 on member 66 sufficiently so that the flange 62 passes below it and, when the coin drops, the fin 91 will ride n the outside of flange 62 and permit continued manual turning of the segment 63.

Referring now to Figs. 11 and 12, it will be noted that when a penny which is of lesser diameter than the five cent coin is inserted in the meter, the end 6I on segment 63 will engage the penny 98 and in pushing thereon will retire the end 60 of main lever 53 from blocking position but will not move fin 91 on pawl 56 far enough to clear flange 62; hence the passage of the penny beyond the support roller 65 will allow the pawl to forthwith drop back against the toothed hub after passing but one of the teeth 81. The toothed wheel returns very slowly in the opposite direction after the handle is released, 1. e.,' at the rate of one tooth each twelve minutes as it is driven by the clockwork. Hence if a second penny is inserted forthwith, and the handle is again actuated, the force necessary to operate the mechanism will repeat the lifting of the pawl as said second penny is pushed through and the toothed hub will be advanced another tooth in that interval. It is physically impossible to arrest the manual effort so suddenly as to push the penny beyond control and retard the toothed wheel without advancing one tooth. The progressive setting by the use of additional pennies may be repeated if desired to attain a maximum indicator setting. As can be readily seen in Figs. 5, 6 and 9, a spring 99 has one end hooked on a stud I and the other ,end hooked over the adjacent end of pawl 56. A spring IOI has one end hooked over the stud I00 and the opposite end secured to a pin I02 on main lever 53, thus assuring spring action return of the parts. i

From a comparison of Figs. 9 and 11, it will be readily apparent that when main lever 63 is' rocked by passage of a five cent coin, the finger 59 thereof will pass through an appreciably greater arc than in the case of the same finger during the passage of a penny. While the actual difference in the diameters of the two coins is very slight, i. e., of the order of three thirty-seconds of an inch, the location of the pivot of the lever on the stud 49 is such as to so multiply the amount of movement of finger 59 as compared to'the opposite end 60 of the lever as to utilize the same for adjusting a spring pressed rack I03 relative distances so that it may operate on the pinion I04 of an irreversible counter I05 and cause said counter to register one unit each time the lever is moved by the passage of a penn and to register five units each time the lever is caused to move by the passage of a five cent coin. The counter I05, which is of any suitable or known construction, will therefore always register the total value of coins expressed in cents which have passed through the meter regardless of whether or both nickels and pennies. This greatly facilitates the keeping of records and the checkingof receipts from the parking meters since the money value of deposited coins removed at any collection need merely check with the difference between the current reading of the counter and a previous reading of the counter.

Reference is now made to the rack and counter structure shown, for example, in Fig. 12 where it will be noted that a horizontal yoke I06 supported on plate 36 has the toothed rack I03 vertically movable therethrough. A lug I0'I above the toothed section of the rack'is adapted for engagement by the finger 59 for raising the rack in accordance with the degree of lifting movement of the finger 69. A guide rod I08 passes through a perforate guide ear I09 and is sur-- abuts I09. The spring I I0 at this time is fully extended and it requires very little force for finger 69'to raise lug I 01. The spring I I0 thus serves as a light snubber when member III is elevated during removal of finger 86 from the ear II2 so that the slight degree of movement of rack I03 due to the engagement of finger 59 on the lug I01, preparatory to conditioning the rack for regupwardly for the distance of one tooth II3 only such coins havebeen pennies only. nickels only, 7

and the pinion I04 of counter I05 remains in mesh therewith during this movement. The counter, being of the irreversible type, the pinion I04 thereof is ratcheted in the customary manner and does not turnthe counter on the upstroke of the rack I03. The relatively mild compression of spring H0 at this point may, at times prove insufficient to drive the rack downwardly in order to turn pinion I04 for a distance of one tooth in order to cause the counter to register one unit. This eventuality is guarded against by reason of the fact that when the finger 86 of coin pusher 63 returns under the influence of the handle spring, the ear H2 is engaged and member III is pushed downwardly to the position shown in Fig. 6 so that considerably additional compression is imparted to spring I I0 to furnish the necessary power for operating the counter. As can be best seen in Figs. 6 and 9, a rack control member I I4 may be provided on a pivot H5 and is under the influence of a coil spring II6 which is looped over the pin I00 at one end and around the end of leg II'I at the other. The spring constrains a squared nose portion I I8 to engagement with the side of the teeth "3 of rack I03 to permit raising of the rack and preclude accidental lowering of the rack. Member II4 has a lug H9 I I ment under manual setting operation, as is clear- I I6 and the nose I I has been retracted from the side of the rack I03. thus positively releasing the latter to the action of spring IIO. Member H4 is vital to the proper operation of the machine only in so far as it precludes a well informed person from mischievously rocking main lever 53 back and forth by skillful oscillation of the handle I5 without pushing the inserted coin completely off the roller 65. Such a skilled but mischievous operation, in the absence ofthe member He, would cause an undesired false actuation of the counter. With the structure shown and the parts arranged as in Figs. 2 to 12, inclusive, the depending arcuate dialmember 89 would provide for a maximum setting of sixty minutes and would be divided in a well known manner (not shown) into sixty minutes with suitable figures at intervals indicating stated fractions of an hour. When a penny is inserted and the handle 15 is turned clockwise to its permitted limit, the indicator member 8| would be turned to carry the indicator hand 94 to register twelve minutes. The clockwork or timer mechanism 9I, which is always under slight spring power even when at rest, has been wound and the gear train is ar-' ranged in well known fashion so that the return ter, dial 89, which is divided into sixty minutes,

is replaced by a. structurally similar dial divided into one hundred twenty minutes. The clock mechanism 9|, which is a unitary structure removably mounted by its extended flange HI and screws I32 'on brace member I38, is replaced by and then reassembled by pressing the ing 79 in to zero of the indicator hand under the power of ated to carry each penn through without allowing any appreciable lapse of time, the several hub teeth 81 would be successively advanced by the succeeding operations so that indicator hand 94 would be advanced an additional twelve minutes or one-fifth of an hour for each of the pennies. A motorist may therefore selectively set the meter by the use of pennies from one-fifth of an hour to and including one hour. This operation will be well understood in view of the explanation concurrent with the description of the structure.

The motorist may also set the meter for a one hour parking period by the deposit of a nickel.

Should the meter be in operation with the hand 94 in some intermediate position, the deposit of an additional nickel will merely serve to move the hand to the one hour limit. Under a similar condition should an additional penny be deposited, it can serve only to move the hand 94 to the nearest one-fifth interval in advance. As clearly disclosed in my hereinbefore mentioned co-pending application Serial No. 282,645, now D. S. Patent No. 2,311,242 of February 16, 1943, a vertically movable violation signal I20 is arranged to rise before window I2I- when the indicator hand 94 is returned to zero position under the power influence of the time mechanism 9 I. The operation of violation signal I20 is effected by pivoting a lever I 22 on a fixed pivot I23 closely adjacent one end of the lever and pivoting the opposite end of the lever at I24 upon the bottom of the signal member I20. counterweight I25 on lever I22 closely adjacent to pivot I23 allows the signal I20 to have but a slight overbalance of weight which will cause the signal to normally descend. A second lever I26 has its end pivoted at I21 immediately below the pivot I24 and it has a fixed .pivot I28 immediately below pivot I23. A pin I29 in the freeend of lever I26 is engageable by an arcuate integral finger member I30 formed on the indicator unit 3|. Lever I29 ,holds the signal at all times in. a vertical position, and the enga gethe aperture 84 which is farthest from the hand 94 changing the location of the spring 82, all as shown in Fig. 14.

The back plate 36 has a pair of forwardly extending spacer posts I96 and M5 riveted thereto and on the shouldered forward ends of these posts the brace member I33 is secured by means of screws I39 (see Figs. 2, 3 and also Fig. 4). In assembling the modified form of the device of Figs. 13 to 16 inclusive, a pawl I31 is mounted on post I35 prior to reassembling brace member I33. Pawl 531 has a pin I39 fixed therein and extendingrearwardly in the path of the end 80 of main lever 58 so as to be engaged by said end of the main lever to raise the slender point I39 of pawl I31 high enough to clear the coin pusher 030 which corresponds to the hereinbefore described,

coin pusher 63 save that the flange 820 is shouldered at 62I. This degree of movement of the end 60 of lever 53 occurs when anickel is passed through the device.- The end of pawl I56 will enter the notch I40 in the toothed wheel and arrest the indicator member 3| in a center position intermediate its limits of movement when the first nickel is used. When a second nickel is deposited forthwith without allowing any appreciable time to elapse for operation of the meter, the coin pusher 630 again raises pawl I31 and the element 56 is removed from the notch I40 so that ting limit. It will be readily appreciated that the counter-actuating rack will have been operated through its cycle to cause the counter to register five units on each of said operations.

As shown particularly in Fig. 16, the operation of the meter on an inserted penny will move the end 60 of main lever 53 sufllciently to clear the end 62I of the coin pusher flange but insufiiciently to raise the'point I39 of pawl I31 above the level of arcuate flan e 620 of the coin pusher so that the cut away shoulder Ii2I abuts the end of pawl I3! and limits the degree of movement of the indicator member 8| to twelve minutes. The modified form of device will therefore aflord a motorist an opportunity to set the meter for twelve minutes by the use of one penny or it may be set for one hour .by the use of one nickel or for two hours by the use of two nickels in succession. It will be noted that in the. modified structure shown in Figs. 13-16 inclusive, the point or fin I39 on member I31 cooperates with the pusher 630 and the plurality of teeth on the toothed hub 13 are not efiective. The fin 9'! on pawl 58 is thus inoperative to influence. the operation of the dea vice under these circumstances and maybe removed as specifically shown in Fig. 16.

Regardless of the specific adaptation of the by said pusher, a toothed hub mounted for movemechanism to a selected series of permissible setting operations, the single lever element 53 unfailingly integrates and synchronizes all phases of the coin control, viz., the release-oi the pusher, the proper dispatch of a previously deposited coin from the inspection station and the counting of the coin passing through the meter to the inspection station. The same lever element 53 controls the operation of the pawl on the toothed hub and is thus a vital element in apportioning the extent of setting movement of the indicator with relation to the size of the coin deposited.

What is claimed is:

1. In a manually ,operable parking meter, the combination of means for successively arresting deposited coins of predetermined difi'erent diameters at a, common position, a manually operated pusher for successively engaging said coins and displacing the coin arresting means different distances determined by the diameter of the coin thus engaged, a lever rockable by the coin arresting means for distances difi'ering with said different predetermined diameters of the coins, an indicator engageable by the pusher for setting the indicator, and means controlled by the movement of the said lever for limiting the extent of indicator movement by the pusher .in predetermined relation to the extent of movement of the said lever.

rested coin rocks the lever end out of blocking position, an indicator movable in a setting direction' by operation of said pusher, and complementary means comprising a toothed hub on the indicator and a pawl operable by the lever for positively limiting the extent of setting movement with the indicator, a pawl pivoted alongside the lever normally engaged on the toothed hub, a pin and slot connection between the pawl and lever for releasing the toothed hub on initial movement of said lever, and a fin engageable to ride outside the pusher upon movement of the lever by one of said coins of different diameter whereby the pawl is held inoperative to permit,

continued movement of the indicator by said pusher.

, of an indicator unit, means yieldably urging said ment of the indicator according to the relative diameter of the coin engaged by the pusher.

3. In a parking meter, the combination of .a rockable indicator unit, a manually operable pusher engageable with said indicator unit for moving it in one direction, a timing mechanism connected in driving relation with the indicator for driving it in a reverse direction, a pivoted lever having an end normally in the path of said pusher to preclude movement of the indicator unit by said pusher, a coin guide for moving selectively deposited coins of predetermined different diameters through a common path, a projection on the side of the said lever normally disposed in the path of the deposited coins for arresting a lowermost coin in position for abutment unit to a zero position in accordance with the passage of time, a manually movable pusher for engagement with the indicator unit to set said unit at a distance from zero position, a pivoted lever, a coin way member for directing selectively deposited coins of predetermined large and small diameters, a projection on the side of said lever disposed in the path of the deposited coin for arresting a lowermost coin in position for abutment by said pusher, a toothed hub mounted for movement with the indicator, a pawl pivoted along side the lever and normally engaging the toothed hub, a lost motion connection between the pawl and the lever and a fin member on said pawl and movable therewith, the movement of the pusher against a coin of predetermined small diameter serving to rock the lever anddisengage the pawl momentarily for subsequent engagement with a tooth on said hub, the movementof said pusher against an arrested coin of predetermined large diameter serving to move said lever and pawl to a greater distance whereby the finrests on the outside of the pusher and retains the pawl in disengaged relation with said toothed hub during continued manual movement of the pusher.

5. In a parking meter the combination of means providing away for the movement of selected coins of large and small diameter through a common path, a lever having a lateral projection extending into said path for arresting the lowermost deposited coin, a manually operable pusher movable against the coin for displacing said lever, a rockable indicator, cooperating means on said pusher and indicator for effecting setting movement of the indicator, a toothed hub movable with the indicator, a pawl having a lost motion connection with said lever and adapted to be disengaged from said toothed hub upon movement by operation of the lever on a deposited coin, said lever being moved relatively diflerent distances during operation of the pusher on the coins of predetermined large and small diameter,

and a fin on said pawl adapted for movement beyond the pusher during operation or the pusher on a coin of predetermined large diameter whereby the pawl is retained out of engagement with the toothed hub during continued manual movement of said pusher. v 1

FRANK L. MICHAEL-S. 

